HERNDON, Va. — Herndon Police have released new information about the attacks on women on the Washington and Old Dominion Trail.
Police Chief Maggie DeBoard said that the man arrested, 42-year-old Juan Rodriguez Alfaro could be connected to eight similar attacks in the town of Herndon in the last couple of months. That number is on top of at least five other cases being investigated by Fairfax County Police.
"That subject exposed himself and was engaging in obscene sexual behaviors and grabbed the victim's genitals before fleeing the area," the chief detailed.
Investigators believe that the same half-naked man had attempted to grab a woman from behind in Reston hours prior.
Herndon resident Julia Easton said a woman that used to live in her home had reportedly seen this kind of indecent behavior before. She told WUSA9 that she's feeling a little safer following the arrest of the 41-year-old.
"She saw a man with no pants on the W&OD, so I think he has been here longer than we know," Easton said. "It's a sigh of relief, especially for me and both of my roommates, because we both frequent the trail because we live on it. As single females, it makes us feel safer."
Chief DeBoard said a victim attacked in August reported the incident just days ago and provided a video to investigators.
She confirmed that residents also witnessed Rodriguez-Alfaro exercising in the 200 block of Van Buren Street in Herndon, but it was the U.S. Marshalls that were able to identify him for a crime in another state.
"On Sept. 7, a day later, U.S. Marshalls again contacted Herndon detectives and advised them that the subject they were looking for who was wanted, may possibly be the suspect in the sexual battery and indecent exposures in Herndon and Fairfax County," Chief DeBoard said.
For now, Rodriguez Alfaro is facing three counts of indecent exposure. Tomorrow morning, we are expecting to hear the details about the cases that Fairfax County Police detectives have linked to this same man. In Herndon, RSC, WUSA9"